"An Enduring Vision: Photographs from the Lane Collection" is an incredible look at variations on a theme as seen through the lenses of some of the past century's greatest and most influential photographers. The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) exhibit showcases pieces from the modernist photography collection of a prominent couple in the Boston arts community - William Lane and Saundra Lane (formerly Saundra Baker) - who spent three decades of their lives amassing these photographs. Saundra, who recently donated pieces from her collection to the MFA, expanded her art holdings after her husband's death, and says, in a statement posted on a wall of the exhibit by the museum curators, "the Museum [feels] like an extension of my own home." The room does indeed seem like a home, and the collection itself feels very personal, while still including and engaging viewers.
There is no set order for all of the photographs, nor are all of them tied together by the same theme. Rather, what makes the exhibit's unorthodox and clever layout work is the shear and consistent quality of the work. The exhibition clearly reflects the couple's love for modernist photography.
The collection is split, roughly, into four sections, each one decorating a different section of wall in the small square room. Additionally, one small section occupies a glass case in the middle of the room. Each portion focuses on a different motif displayed by the works, and the pairings of certain motifs is alternately striking and brilliant. Within each area, photographs are displayed from masters: Ansel Adams, Paul Strand and William A. Garnett are just some of the giants whose work is featured throughout the collection. The best part of the exhibit, however, is not the plain inclusion of great photographers, but the work of great photographers juxtaposed with the work of other photographers from different eras.
In a section centered around photographs of the human body, three photographs with titles that are variations of the word "nude" are displayed, one by William A. Garnett, another by Edward Weston and a third by Imogen Cunningham. While each clearly focuses on the human body, it is evident in the subject matter, the lighting, the focus and the composition that each artist's view of the human form is drastically different. Individually the pieces are beautiful, but together they present a larger conversation on the depiction and representation of the human form in media. The result is powerful.
This technique, juxtaposing works by different artists, is utilized throughout the exhibit and is the reason it is so successful. Without the small groupings of photographs, the pieces would feel disorganized and haphazardly placed. Rather than being an egotistical who's who of photography, the layout of the collection reinforces an overarching theme of the importance of multiple perspectives in order to view various subjects.
This is especially pertinent on the wall featuring photographs of inanimate objects and still life. Three photographs of plants are placed in a triangular formation on the wall, yet their renderings are so drastically different that the result is transformative. The only photograph in color in the entire exhibit (besides Mike Smith's 1996 print "Bristol, Virginia" in a section on landscapes and nature) is arguably the most simple and the most gorgeous photograph in the exhibit. Irving Penn's 1990 "Gingko Leaves," is a dye transfer print of two gingko leaves of brilliant gold and green placed in opposite directions. The leaves look unnaturally bright and shiny, and their composition on the page is clearly artificial. Placed beside Edward Steichen's "The Sunflower" (1920-22) and Heinrich Kuhn's "Rubber Tree Plant" (1929), both of which are in black and white and are pictures of the plants in natural settings, the trio of plants is brought to life and made accessible to viewers.
The rest of the exhibit functions this way as well. A series of photos centered around trees are displayed on one wall, alternately showing Anne W. Brigham's altered gelatin silver print "Heart of the Storm" (1902), Edward Weston's high contrast "Juniper, Lake Tenaya" (1937) and Judy Dater's portrait piece "Imogen and Twinka" (1974). The motif of trees is turned on its head as viewers are invited and, admittedly, forced to reevaluate how each artist views trees and our relationship with them individually and as a culture.
The exhibit is beautifully done and is a thought-provoking experience for viewers. Catch this exhibit before it ends on March 30 is a must for anyone interested in modernist photography while enjoying a wonderfully composed show.
